Relentless clinches, takedowns and heavy ground-and-pound carried
Lentz to a unanimous decision over Nova Uniao’s Hacran Dias
at
UFC on FX 8 “Belfort vs. Rockhold” on Saturday at the Arena
Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil. All three cageside judges scored
it for Lentz (24-5-2, 8-2-1 UFC) -- 28-27, 29-28 and 29-28 -- as he
improved to 3-0 as a featherweight.

Lentz, who stepped in on short notice for the injured Manny
Gamburyan, did his best work in round two, where he floored the
Brazilian with a knee, transitioned to his back an unleashed a
stream of punches and elbows. The American Top Team representative
grinded away at Dias (22-1-1, 1-1 UFC) for much of the frame,
moving to full mount in the closing seconds.

Down two rounds to none, Dias fought with desperate purpose in the
third, where he drilled Lentz with lefts and rights, secured a
takedown of his own and threatened the El Paso, Texas, native with
an arm-triangle choke from half guard. Lentz escaped, eventually
returned to his feet and survived the Brazilian’s last-gasp
efforts.

Rio (9-2, 1-1 UFC) scored first, delivering a takedown inside the
first minute. From there, the Brazilian took over. He struck for a
takedown of his own, set up in half guard and went to work on the
choke. The squeeze was slow but precise. Having done nothing to
defend the hold, Rio asked out of the match.

“Massaranduba” is 7-1 over his last eight fights.

Tibau Guillotine Submits Cholish

Tibau (27-9, 12-7 UFC) controlled the Cornell University alum with
takedowns and stout left hands throughout the first five minutes.
In the second round, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt staggered
Cholish with a left cross, swarmed him with punches and
aggressively jumped into position for the fight-ending guillotine.
The tapout was Cholish’s only option.

One of the most powerful lightweights on the UFC roster, Tibau has
rattled off five wins in his last seven bouts.

Thiago Escapes Previously Unbeaten Prazeres

Constrictor Team’s Paulo
Thiago won for just the second time in six outings, as he
secured a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Michel
Richard dos Prazeres in an undercard bout at 170 pounds. All
three judges arrived at the same verdict: 29-28 for Thiago (15-5,
5-5 UFC).

A replacement for the injured Lance
Benoist, Prazeres (16-1, 0-1 UFC) was impressive in the early
stages, particularly with his leg attacks. He kicked with
conviction to Thiago’s head, arms, body and legs, keeping his
fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt off balance on the feet.
Nevertheless, Thiago turned the tide in the second round, where he
dropped Prazeres with a knee, forced him to scramble on the canvas
and racked up points with late ground-and-pound.

Round three was difficult to call, as neither man established
himself as the superior fighter. However, Thiago delivered a
critical takedown with roughly 20 seconds remaining on the clock,
perhaps icing the judges’ verdict.

A natural flyweight who replaced the injured Marcos
Vinicius Borges Pancini, Santos (27-7-1, 0-1 UFC) was never a
factor in the fight. Alcantara trapped him on the perimeter and
fired away with kicks, knees and punches. Santos folded under his
much larger countryman’s last barrage, his six-fight winning streak
a thing of the past.

Maldonado Boxes Past Hollett

Exquisite close-quarters boxing and superior conditioning spurred
Fabio
Maldonado to a unanimous decision over former Maximum Fighting
Championship titleholder Roger
Hollett in an undercard battle at 205 pounds. All three
cageside judges scored it for Maldonado (19-6, 2-3 UFC) -- 29-27,
29-28 and 29-27 -- as he put the brakes on a three-fight losing
streak.

Hollett (13-5, 0-2 UFC) started strong -- he attacked with quick
leg kicks and a pair of takedowns in the first round -- but faded
late, and by fight’s end, he was a non-factor. Maldonado battered
the Canadian in short bursts from the clinch, peppering Hollett’s
mid-section with effective punches. The Brazilian boxer even mixed
in an inside trip takedown late in the third round, as he notched
his first victory since October 2010.

Lineker Body Blows Stop Gashimov

Onetime Jungle Fight champion John
Lineker won for the 15th time in his past 16 appearances, as he
wiped out Azamat
Gashimov with a pair of strikes to the body -- one a kick, the
other a punch -- 67 seconds into the second round of their
undercard scrap at 125 pounds.

Lineker (21-6, 2-1 UFC), an emerging threat in the flyweight
division, blasted the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts representative
with punches, knees and kicks on the feet and punishing
ground-and-pound on the canvas. He also benefitted from a
first-round point deduction, as the increasingly desperate Gashimov
(7-3, 0-2 UFC) was penalized for grabbing the cage. It mattered
not.

Early in the third round, the 23-year-old Lineker chopped down the
Russian and finished him with follow-up punches.

Grappling Whiz ‘Formiga’ Outduels Cariaso

Takedowns and s smooth-as-silk top game carried former Shooto South
American champion Jussier da
Silva to a unanimous verdict over Chris
Cariaso in a preliminary flyweight encounter. All three
cageside judges scored it 29-28 for da Silva (15-2, 1-1 UFC), who
has won six of his last seven fights.

“Formiga” ran circles around Cariaso on the ground in the first two
rounds, passing the Californian’s underrated guard with surprising
ease, all while withstanding two questionable restarts from referee
Kevin Mulhall. Da Silva slowed down the stretch, leaving a late
opening for his resilient foe. Cariaso threatened the Brazilian
submission ace with a choke in the third round, dragged him to the
mat and settled in top position, from which opened a cut near da
Silva’s eye with an elbow.

A finish was not in the cards for Cariaso (14-5, 4-3 UFC), however,
and he could not muster enough of an offensive to procure the 10-8
round he needed from the judges.

Larsen (8-4, 0-2 UFC) controlled much of the first 10 minutes with
takedowns, clinches and heavy standup artillery. He floored the
Brazilian with a straight right in the first round and had him on
rubbery legs with a stout combination in the second, but his
inability to put away Martins proved costly.